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Safety Upgrade For My SRT-8

2K views 24 replies 15 participants last post by  TheNewGuy 
#1 ·
As you can all tell by my name i am new here, i am neither a gearhead nor do i know anything about cars, so please do not flame me i am trying to learn. My first post/question here is about roll cages.

How would i go about getting a really good quality roll cage installed in my dodge charger, SRT-8, which i will be getting soon?

Believe it or not, i am into safety myself but since the car will be a gift, i promised i would make it as safe as possible since i will have a bit of power under the hood.

I will also be adding a grill guard/push bumper to the front, among many other performances related upgrades.

Thank you so much, any help would be greatly appreciated. I live in Southeastern MA. So i need a plce fairly close.

New Guy
 
#2 ·
Welcome from Texas! I would search for role cage and see if anyone has done it yet.
 
#4 ·
X2......................................
 
#5 ·
LOL...no, no, no Mr. Smith..I'm actually a great driver..10 years without a single accident while i was driving. However, i have a medical problem i won't get into that coudl make a minor accident more serious and just to make the gift giver happy i promised to put in as much effort making the car safe as i did enhancing it with performance upgrades...like i said, i dont' know anything mechanically related...but i drive very well and have avoided a few accidents at high speed. I just like being safe and such. But thank you all for your replies...i did try a search but don't see much help..i don't want to install it myself (as there are many kits i see you can order) so that is not an option.
keep the ideas coming. and thanks for the welcome.
New Guy Rick
 
#6 ·
Great Pics btw..love the yellow charger Smith, yours as well Tee...think i'm going with black myself, white racing rims maybe-always been a fan of them, and i love the look of having decals of the products i'm going to use on the car, i.e. Mopar, Magnaflow, etc..
 
#7 ·
These cars are extremely safe!!! No car is foolproof !! Unless you are dunning 10second ETs I would not worry about a cage.The only cage I know of in a LX body is a guy that is tubbing his Magnum over on LXFORUMS.

Are you doing some hardcore racing or is it a daily driver with a little track time.

The SRT guys do some racing and do not use rollcages.

Scott
 
#8 ·
Your dealer might raise a few eyebrows concerning warranty claims if you roll in for service with said roll cage installed. "Sir, what do you do with this car?"
 
#9 ·
Thanks Again for the comments, well hopefully the dealer won't mind since it will be paid for outright..he can't say much. And no, i'm not a racer and realize they are really safe and that a roll cage for myself is probably overkill but to tell the truth if it makes My mother, the person giving it to me as a wonderful gift, feel better, and to tell the truth i do think they are pretty cool for aesthetic reasons....I'm not too sure, but when you put in racing seats and want the 4-point racing harness type seatbelt system do you not use the roll cage as a securing point for the seatbelt system? (sorry for my ignornace here, like i said i'm so new, i've neve rhad a nice car that i could do anything with, so all i know is what i see in other peoples pics and what i like the look of)...so yes, maybe a bit more than i need, but either way if it can be done i'd like to.
Thank you all.
(this site seems more user firendly to newbies liek myself than other sites i've joined and been new to whatever it was the site was a forum for, so thank you for not flaming me)
 
#10 ·
Right, roll cage, unless you will always be wearing a helmet and a five point harness, is actually more dangerous than rolling without one. What happens is that the surfaces in the car are made to dampen impact. Roll cage, not so much.

Get the side impact airbags, and take a high performance driving course. Probably cheaper than a cage, and unlike a cage, something you can use everyday.

WE know of a 300c owner who went into a farm field at +100, rolled it, and walked away. Unless you get a real raceshop, not just Bubba the Welder, the chances are installing the cage cold actually compromise the integrety of the unibody.
 
#11 ·
Really? Thank you for the info GLHS, i appreciat ethat..i would never have known that...ok, well can i still have the seatbelt harness system installed without the cage?
Thank you all again for your help, i can't wait to get my charger amd get some pics up to show you all. it will be awhile as i am not jumping into anything...i've been researching the right car for me for a long time...and now i'm finding out what i want to do to it when i get it.
Rick
 
#12 ·
Does anybody else want to suggest any other great performance, saftey upgrades-cheap...or should i go to another forum for that? i would like to increase the hp, but mainly the aesthetics (which are personal choic ei realize) but i don't want to decrease performance when adding things, i.e. grill guard (from GoRhino.com same the MA State PD use on their cars!)
 
#13 ·
The grill guard would decrease performance by adding weight, for sure, but if for aesthetics - more power to ya! I'm not entirely sure whether or not the grill guard would even work with an SRT-8, however, as the front fascia (bumper) is rather different and lower than it is on the standard hemi and cop cars....

As far as performance, there are a lot of things available. I would do an exhaust, an intake, and a computer tuner. All could be had for less than 2,000 dollars easy.

Good luck with your car and welcome!
 
#14 ·
I know of a guy with a srt8 charger that crashed into a slow driving SUV doing 70mph. The SUV got totaled the charger had come minor damaged but it got fixed really fast at a shop. This cars are built like tanks. The guy didn't suffer no injures what so ever. The car didn't even shut down from the accident. I feel extremely safe on mine.
 
#15 ·
I'm going to agree with GLHS on the roll cage. they are good to use in race cars, because race cars have issues with rolling over at very high speeds, and thats one of their biggest dangers. however with passenger cars, like the charger, the biggest danger comes from impact with other vehicles. A roll cage is not designed to protect you from impact with other vehicles and while it may not hurt you, it certainly wont help you as much as airbags. just make sure the car comes with side curtain airbags. i believe the charger has a 5 star crash test rating from every angle if you have them.
The best way to increase your safety is to drive defensively. It sounds like you are a good driver and you already know this, but i was just putting it out there.
You sound like a nice guy and i hope you enjoy the forums! and congrats on getting an srt8! i'm sure you'll love it.
sorry i can really help you improve the safety aspect of it, but honestly i dont think you can make it much safer than it is. i will admit i'm no expert on roll cage though, so you might wanna go ahead and call a roll cage company and ask them what they think.
 
#16 ·
If one of my kids came home and told me that they wanted to install a roll cage "just to be safe", I wouldn't let them have the car. One would only install a roll cage if you thought you'd need it, i.e. high speed collisions and/rollovers over what you should be driving legally.

As far as a medical condition, perhaps but if true, you probably shouldn't be putting other drivers in potential danger.
 
#17 ·
Thank you all for the advice i really really appreciate it....Spankis i'll def take your advice into consideration i've already looked at some of those things and now i have them bookmarked so thank you. Also, Aremel i see your point, but i am almost 28 and i do drive well and i'm not into doing anything to put myself and others at risk, i'm actually looking into a career in law enforcement possibly so they should provide some driving tactics...but, as i said i have a spotless record and do drive very safe, especially now that i have a neice.
thank you all again you seem so helpful and respectful to the fact that i am new.
I cannot wait to share my pics with you all when i get my SRT-8. and i'm glad to hear how many of you say they are built like tanks.
i'm off for the night. Have a great one y'all.
Thanks,
Rick
 
#19 ·
#18 ·
I'll chime in. I rolled my original inferno SRT going approx 45 according to the police report. I walked away with two scratches on my hands. The cage the car has in it is VERY good. See the picture below at just how little the roof caved in after taking an impact. Very safe car in my opinion and realy needs no safty mods unless you are going track racing all out.
 

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#20 · (Edited)
The #1 safety feature in any vehicle is the person behind the wheel. Don't drive too fast for conditions, do not allow yourself to be distracted, pay attention to what is going on around you, anticipate what the vehicles around you are going to do (especially to the guy with the "Keep Talking, I'm Reloading" sticker in the back window of his pickup), and fer chrissakes be sober!

Follow those rules, and you should be able to forgo having to cage the car and wearing a helmet, neck brace and flame retardant suit.
 
#21 ·
Oh, about the race belts. One reason they are not in street cars is that folks just flat wont wear them. They become an annoyance, beaucse of the hassle of putting them on.
They look cool, but after about 500 times of having to get that second strap on, and all four buckles locked in, people just say screw it and dont wear them.
 
#24 ·
After a major and expensive engineering project with the cage, which must be padded to protect the occupants you must consider other issues.

Will other occupants ride in the car? The cage cannot be near them or you unless well padded.

Regarding racing seatbelts - they restrain the body so well, its a good idea to wear a helmet. If you wear a helmet, you should wear a HANS device.

See where I'm going with this? If a safe car like the Charger needs extra safety equipment for someone to drive it, they really shouldn't be driving at all. Think about it.
 
#25 ·
hey, thanks to everybody for all the great advice..as a complete rookie in the area i really needed to hear all this....and i def rethought the roll cage and crazy seatbelt harness after really thinking how much of a pain in the ass it would become after the 500th time putting it on...and as somebody said..be aware don't drink while you drive (i don't drink EVER so that won't be a problem) and the person behind the wheel is the first safety precaustion....so thank you all again....even as for aesthetic purposes i've reconsidered since the cage and 4/5 point seatbelt would look good but may not be in the best interest of others in the car or myself...
i appreciate everybody welcoming me.
 
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